The Abbey Church of St.Denis

   Founded by king abbey in the 7th century, the abbey church is of major importance to the Architecture and the Historic World, as not only is it the first major edifice marking the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic style, but the burial place of kings. This structure served as a model for most of the late 12th-century French Gothic cathedrals and was built over the tomb of Saint Denis, the patron saint of France.Abott suger built a new basilica for they abbey that incorporated a part of an earlier church built in the carolignian empire (751-987).

  The building emphasizes relationships of parts toward a total unity. Each detail reinforces an over-arching vision. In the facade of Saint-Denis the three doorways are fused into a unity by the slight predominance of the central one. In addition, by the uniform use of all-round figures in the jamb, the three doorways are incorporated into the vertical system of the facade with its towers; we see the horizontal unity of the lower part simultaneously with the unity of the whole facade.

 Suger’s church would soon transform Western architecture. The Gothic stylistic elements that mark it as a transitional structure can best be seen in the chancel and the ambulatory with its famous stained-glass windows. The west facade (1137–40) was much restored during the 19th century by Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. The choir, apse, and nave were rebuilt in the Gothic style 

under Louis IX . 

  

  Work was begun again in 1231 under the direction of Abbot Eudes Clément, and the nave was completed in 1281. Actually, the name of the first architect to succeed Suger is not known, but credit is given to a succeeding architect Pierre de Montreuil, who worked until his own death in 1267.

   

  For 12 centuries, except for a few kings of the Merovingian and Capetian dynasties, all the French kings, from Dagobert I (reigned 629–39) to Louis XVIII (reigned 1814–24) as well as their close relatives and a number of their outstanding subjects, were buried in the basilica. During the French Revolution (1787–99), their tombs were desecrated and removed, but they were later reassembled in the church and now constitute a remarkable collection of French funerary sculpture. The monuments on all the tombs of the predecessors of Louis IX (St. Louis; reigned 1226–70) were carved under his orders and are of little interest except for that of Dagobert, which has lively sculptures. 

   

  After Philip III (d. 1285), the recumbent statues had faces copied from death masks; most of them are striking portraits. During the Renaissance, the mausoleums were elaborate and highly decorated. They are mostly on two levels; on the upper level the monarchs are represented kneeling in court dress, while on the lower level, they are shown lying naked in the rigidity of death. The most remarkable Renaissance tombs include those of Louis XII (1498–1515), Anne of Brittany, Francis I (1515–47), Claude of France, Henry II (1547–59), and Catherine de Médicis. The crypt, which Suger built around the foundations of the Carolingian church, contains some Merovingian sarcophagi.

sources: 

-Conant, Kenneth John. "Review: Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of St-Denis and Its Art Treasures." Speculum 28.3 (1953): 603-05. JSTOR. Web. 02 Dec. 2016. 

-Mcaleer, J. Philip. "Romanesque England and the Development of the Façade Harmonique." Gesta 23.2 (1984): 87-105. JSTOR. Web. 02 Dec. 2016.

-"Suger, A.; Panofsky, E., Eds. and Trans. Panofsky-Soergel, G., Et Al., Eds. and Trans.: Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of St. Denis and Its Art Treasures (Second Edition) (Paperback)." Princeton University. The Trustees of Princeton University, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.